Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Monday struck down several actions undertaken by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ruling them illegitimate because they aimed to nullify earlier immunization approvals and recommendations.
In his decision in American Academy of Pediatrics et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. et al., Murphy ruled, among other things, that the vast majority of RFK Jr.'s appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are medically and scientifically unqualified under relevant standards set by Congress to rule on the public health risks and benefits of vaccines. The judge stayed the appointments of 13 of RFK Jr.'s 15 ACIP appointees and all of the votes so far taken by RFK Jr.'s handpicked committee. Murphy also stayed further meetings of the ACIP until the issue of the propriety of the current members' qualifications can be resolved.
